Method and device for coupling multiple ground planes

ABSTRACT

Generally, this disclosure provides systems, devices and methods for improved electrical coupling of multiple ground planes of a device. The device may include a plurality of ground planes and an electrically conductive ground clip. The ground clip may include a base portion configured to secure the ground clip to the device and a plurality of spring fingers. Each of the spring fingers may be configured to contact and electrically couple to one of the plurality of ground planes, wherein the ground clip is to provide a conduction path between each of the spring fingers. One of the spring fingers may pass through an opening or cut-through in a first ground plane to contact a second ground plane. The device may be a mobile communication or computing platform.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to ground planes, and more particularly,to electrical coupling of multiple ground planes in a device.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices, including mobile platforms such as, for example,tablets and smart phones, are being designed and manufactured withreduced profiles or widths. The resulting volume limitations may provideless space for electrical connections between ground planes and makesuch connections more difficult to fabricate and less reliable. Existingsolutions may use conductive fabrics, foams and/or adhesives. Thesetechniques generally require time to set or cure and may lose theireffectiveness over time with respect to both contact and electricalconduction properties. Additionally, fabrics and adhesives are typicallyrestricted to a given thickness which may raise manufacturing toleranceissues.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of embodiments of the claimed subject matterwill become apparent as the following Detailed Description proceeds, andupon reference to the Drawings, wherein like numerals depict like parts,and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view schematic diagram of an exampleembodiment consistent with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a ground clip consistent withone example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a ground clip deploymentconsistent with one example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross sectional side view of an example embodimentconsistent with the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of operations of another exampleembodiment consistent with the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a system diagram of another example embodimentconsistent with the present disclosure.

Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with referencebeing made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives,modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilledin the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally, this disclosure provides systems, devices and methods forimproved electrical coupling of multiple ground planes of a device. Insome embodiments, the device may include a plurality of ground planesand an electrically conductive ground clip configured to contact each ofthe ground planes to prevent these metal planes from floating andfunctioning as antennas which can generate electromagnetic noise. Theground clip may include a base portion configured to secure the groundclip to some element or structure of the device. The ground clip mayalso include a plurality of spring fingers. Each of the spring fingersmay be configured to contact and electrically couple to one of theground planes such that the ground clip provides a conduction pathbetween each of the spring fingers. One of the spring fingers may passthrough an opening or cut-through in a first ground plane to contact asecond ground plane. The device may be a mobile communication orcomputing platform configured with a relatively thin profile which maynot suitably accommodate other forms of ground plane coupling.

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view schematic diagram 100 of an exampleembodiment consistent with the present disclosure. A device 110 is shownto include a number of ground planes 102, 104, 106 stacked in a parallelfashion relative to each other. The device may be a mobile communicationor computing platform, such as, for example, a smart phone or tablet.Such devices may generally have a relatively thin profile or width. Oneof the ground planes may be associated with the base (or shell orcasing) of the device. Another of the ground planes may be associatedwith a stiffening or damping mid-frame component configured to providerigidity to the device, particularly in light of the thin profile. Yetanother of the ground planes may be associated with a display element ofthe device, for example to reduce electro-static discharge (ESD)effects.

An electrically conductive mechanism 108 is provided to couple themultiple ground planes 102, 104, 106 to a common ground potential, forexample through contact points 112, 114. Ground plane 104 may beconfigured with an opening, cut-through or gap 116 through which contactpoint 112 may connect to ground plane 102.

In some embodiments, ground plane 106 may be associated with a base ofthe device and may serve as a primary ground plane. Ground plane 104 maybe associated with a mid-frame support structure or stiffening memberand ground plane 102 may be associated with a display element of thedevice. Although only three ground planes are illustrated in this figureand the discussion below, it will be appreciated that the concept can beextended to any number of ground planes that may be required.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view 200 of a ground clip 220consistent with one example embodiment of the present disclosure. Insome embodiments, the electrically conductive mechanism 108 may beconfigured as a ground clip 220 that includes a base portion 210, sidewalls 212 and a number of spring fingers 202, 204, 206 that may serve aselectrical contact points to the ground planes 102, 104, 106, as will beexplained in greater detail below. The base portion 210 may have acut-out (or hole) 208 through its surface. For example, the hole 208 maybe drilled through or stamped out of the surface. The base 210, sidewalls 212 and /or the hole 208 may be configured to facilitateattachment or mounting of the ground clip to a structure within thedevice 110 as will be explained below.

In some embodiments, the ground clip 220 may be fabricated fromelectrically conductive materials such as, for example, copper (Cu),beryllium copper (BeCu) or gold (Au), although any conductive materialmay be used. In some embodiments, the ground clip may be gold plated.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view 300 of a ground clip deploymentconsistent with one example embodiment of the present disclosure. Theground clip 220 is shown attached to a structural member or framecomponent 308 of the device. In some embodiments, the attachment may beaccomplished by press fitting the clip 220 to the structural member 308so that, for example, friction between the side walls 212 and thestructural member 308 holds the clip in place. In some embodiments, athermoplastic staking (or heat staking) process may be employed toattach the clip 220 to the structural member 308 using a plastic stud302 through the ground clip hole 208. In some embodiments, a mechanicalfastener, such as a screw or other suitable fastener, may be employed tosecure the clip 220.

Also, in this figure, spring finger 206a is shown to be electricallycoupled to a contact patch 304 on a ground plane of, for example, thebase of the device. Although hidden in this perspective view, springfinger 206b is also electrically coupled to a contact patch 306 on theground plane. Spring fingers 202 and 204 are shown as freely extendingupward, in an uncompressed mode, prior to placement of additional layersof the device on top of the clips.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross sectional side view 400 of an exampleembodiment consistent with the present disclosure. The device 110 andground clip 220 are shown in cross section. Portions of ground plane 106are shown at the base of the device segmented into pieces, in thisparticular cross-sectional slice, by structural member 308. The centerpiece of ground plane 106 may correspond to the contact patch 304, towhich spring finger 206a (not shown in this view) is coupled.

Spring finger 202 is shown, on the right side of the figure, in both anuncompressed and compressed position with a downward arrow indicatingdirection of compression. When in the compressed state, spring finger202 makes contact with ground plane 102.

Spring finger 204 is shown, on the left side of the figure, in both anuncompressed and compressed position with a downward arrow indicatingdirection of compression. When in the compressed state, spring finger204 makes contact with ground plane 104 through the opening 116 inground plane layer 102.

The spring fingers may be configured to provide a level of compressionforce required for suitable grounding contact and to allow adaption tomanufacturing tolerance variations in the relative positions of theground planes and other layers. This level of compression force maydepend on physical dimensions of the spring fingers and the spacingbetween layers.

The cross sectional view also illustrates that the device may includemany additional layers, such as, for example, a plastic skin 404 and thedisplay element 402. The operation of the display element 402 may beimproved through the presence of associated ground plane 104 which mayreduce ESD effects.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of operations 500 of another exampleembodiment consistent with the present disclosure. The operationsprovide a method for improved electrical coupling of multiple groundplanes of a device. At operation 510, a ground clip is bonded to thedevice, wherein the ground clip is electrically conductive and comprisesa plurality of spring fingers. At operation 520, a first of the springfingers is configured to contact a first of the ground planes. Atoperation 530, a second of the spring fingers is configured to contact asecond of the ground planes. At operation 540, an opening is created inthe second ground plane. At operation 550, a third of the spring fingersis configured to contact a third of the ground planes through theopening in the second ground plane.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system diagram 600 of another example embodimentconsistent with the present disclosure. The system 600 may be a mobilecommunication or computing platform or device 610 such as, for example,a smart phone, smart tablet, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobileInternet device (MID), convertible tablet, notebook or laptop computer,or any other suitable device. It will be appreciated, however, thatembodiments of the system described herein are not limited to mobileplatforms, and in some embodiments, the system 600 may be a workstation,desktop computer or other electronic device. The device may generallypresent various interfaces to a user via a display element 660 such as,for example, a touch screen, liquid crystal display (LCD), organic lightemitting diode (OLED) display or any other suitable display type.

The system 600 is shown to include any number of processors 620 andmemory 630. In some embodiments, the processors 620 may be implementedas any number of processor cores. The processor (or processor cores) maybe any type of processor, such as, for example, a micro-processor, anembedded processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a graphicsprocessor (GPU), a network processor, a field programmable gate array orother device configured to execute code. The processors may bemultithreaded cores in that they may include more than one hardwarethread context (or “logical processor”) per core. The memory 630 may becoupled to the processors. The memory 630 may be any of a wide varietyof memories (including various layers of memory hierarchy and/or memorycaches) as are known or otherwise available to those of skill in theart. It will be appreciated that the processors and memory may beconfigured to store, host and/or execute one or more user applicationsor other software modules. These applications may include, but not belimited to, for example, any type of computation, communication, datamanagement, data storage and/or user interface task. In someembodiments, these applications may employ or interact with any othercomponents of the mobile platform 610.

System 600 is also shown to include network interface module 640 whichmay include wireless communication capabilities, such as, for example,cellular communications, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Bluetooth®, and/orNear Field Communication (NFC). The wireless communications may conformto or otherwise be compatible with any existing or yet to be developedcommunication standards including past, current and future version ofBluetooth®, Wi-Fi and mobile phone communication standards.

System 600 is also shown to include an input/output (IO) system orcontroller 650 which may be configured to enable or manage datacommunication between processor 620 and other elements of system 600,for example display element 660, or other elements (not shown) externalto system 600.

System 600 is also shown to include multiple ground planes 680 and aninterconnect mechanism 108 to couple the ground planes to each otherand/or other system components, as described previously.

It will be appreciated that in some embodiments, the various componentsof the system 600 may be combined in a system-on-a-chip (SoC)architecture. In some embodiments, the components may be hardwarecomponents, firmware components, software components or any suitablecombination of hardware, firmware or software.

Embodiments of the methods described herein may be implemented in asystem that includes one or more storage mediums having stored thereon,individually or in combination, instructions that when executed by oneor more processors perform the methods. Here, the processor may include,for example, a system CPU (e.g., core processor) and/or programmablecircuitry. Thus, it is intended that operations according to the methodsdescribed herein may be distributed across a plurality of physicaldevices, such as, for example, processing structures at severaldifferent physical locations. Also, it is intended that the methodoperations may be performed individually or in a subcombination, aswould be understood by one skilled in the art. Thus, not all of theoperations of each of the flow charts need to be performed, and thepresent disclosure expressly intends that all subcombinations of suchoperations are enabled as would be understood by one of ordinary skillin the art.

The storage medium may include any type of tangible medium, for example,any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, compact diskread-only memories (CD-ROMs), compact disk rewritables (CD-RWs), digitalversatile disks (DVDs) and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor devicessuch as read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs) such asdynamic and static RAMs, erasable programmable read-only memories(EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories(EEPROMs), flash memories, magnetic or optical cards, or any type ofmedia suitable for storing electronic instructions.

“Circuitry,” as used in any embodiment herein, may include, for example,singly or in any combination, hardwired circuitry, programmablecircuitry, state machine circuitry, and/or firmware that storesinstructions executed by programmable circuitry. An application (or“App”) may be embodied as code or instructions which may be executed onprogrammable circuitry such as a host processor or other programmablecircuitry. A module, as used in any embodiment herein, may be embodiedas circuitry. The circuitry may be embodied as an integrated circuit,such as an integrated circuit chip. In some embodiments, a module maythus be implemented in software and/or firmware and may comprise one ormore processes, threads or subroutines of a single process.Additionally, in some embodiments, a module may be distributed andexecuted on separate devices.

Thus, the present disclosure provides systems, devices, and methods forimproved electrical coupling of multiple ground planes of a device. Thefollowing examples pertain to further embodiments.

According to Example 1 there is provided a ground clip for coupling aplurality of ground planes of a device. The ground clip may include abase portion to secure the ground clip to the device; and a plurality ofspring fingers, each of the spring fingers to contact and electricallycouple to one of the ground planes, and the ground clip is electricallyconductive to provide a conduction path between each of the springfingers.

Example 2 may include the subject matter of Example 1, and one of thespring fingers passes through an opening in a first of the ground planesto contact a second of the ground planes.

Example 3 may include the subject matter of Examples 1 and 2, and theground clip includes beryllium copper (BeCu).

Example 4 may include the subject matter of Examples 1-3, and the groundclip is plated with gold (Au).

Example 5 may include the subject matter of Examples 1-4, and one of theground planes is associated with a display element of the device andgrounding is provided to reduce electro-static discharge.

Example 6 may include the subject matter of Examples 1-5, and thedisplay element is an organic light emitting diode (OLED) displayelement.

Example 7 may include the subject matter of Examples 1-6, and one of theground planes is associated with a metal structure configured to providerigidity for the device.

Example 8 may include the subject matter of Examples 1-7, and the springfingers are configured to adapt to manufacturing tolerance variations inrelative positions of the ground planes.

According to Example 9 there is provided a method for coupling groundplanes of a device. The method may include: bonding a ground clip to thedevice, and the ground clip is electrically conductive and includes aplurality of spring fingers; configuring a first of the spring fingersto contact a first of the ground planes; configuring a second of thespring fingers to contact a second of the ground planes; creating anopening in the second ground plane; and configuring a third of thespring fingers to contact a third of the ground planes through theopening in the second ground plane.

Example 10 may include the subject matter of Example 9, and the bondingfurther includes press fitting the ground clip to a structural member ofthe device.

Example 11 may include the subject matter of Examples 9 and 10, furtherincluding opening a hole in a portion of the ground clip to receive aplastic stud to secure the ground clip to a structural member of thedevice using thermoplastic staking.

Example 12 may include the subject matter of Examples 9-11, and theground clip includes beryllium copper (BeCu) and is plated with gold(Au).

Example 13 may include the subject matter of Examples 9-12, and one ofthe ground planes is associated with a display element of the device andgrounding is provided to reduce electro-static discharge.

Example 14 may include the subject matter of Examples 9-13, and thedisplay element is an organic light emitting diode (OLED) displayelement.

Example 15 may include the subject matter of Examples 9-14, and one ofthe ground planes is associated with a metal structure configured toprovide rigidity for the device.

Example 16 may include the subject matter of Examples 9-15, and thespring fingers are configured to adapt to manufacturing tolerancevariations in relative positions of the ground planes.

According to Example 17 there is provided a device. The device mayinclude: a plurality of ground planes; and an electrically conductiveground clip. The ground clip may include: a base portion to secure theground clip to the device; and a plurality of spring fingers, each ofthe spring fingers to contact and electrically couple to one of theplurality of ground planes, and the ground clip is to provide aconduction path between each of the spring fingers.

Example 18 may include the subject matter of Example 17, and the deviceis one of a smart phone, a smart tablet, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a mobile Internet device (MID), a convertible tablet, a notebookor a laptop computer.

Example 19 may include the subject matter of Examples 17 and 18, and oneof the spring fingers passes through an opening in a first of the groundplanes to contact a second of the ground planes.

Example 20 may include the subject matter of Examples 17-19, and theground clip includes beryllium copper (BeCu).

Example 21 may include the subject matter of Examples 17-20, and theground clip is plated with gold (Au).

Example 22 may include the subject matter of Examples 17-21, furtherincluding a display element, and one of the ground planes is associatedwith the display element and grounding is provided to reduceelectro-static discharge.

Example 23 may include the subject matter of Examples 17-22, and thedisplay element is an organic light emitting diode (OLED) displayelement.

Example 24 may include the subject matter of Examples 17-23, furtherincluding a metal structure configured to provide rigidity for thedevice, and one of the ground planes is associated with the metalstructure.

Example 25 may include the subject matter of Examples 17-24, and thespring fingers are configured to adapt to manufacturing tolerancevariations in relative positions of the plurality of ground planes.

According to Example 26 there is provided a system for coupling groundplanes of a device. The system may include: means for bonding a groundclip to the device, and the ground clip is electrically conductive andincludes a plurality of spring fingers; means for configuring a first ofthe spring fingers to contact a first of the ground planes; means forconfiguring a second of the spring fingers to contact a second of theground planes; means for creating an opening in the second ground plane;and means for configuring a third of the spring fingers to contact athird of the ground planes through the opening in the second groundplane.

Example 27 may include the subject matter of Example 26, and the meansfor bonding further includes means for press fitting the ground clip toa structural member of the device.

Example 28 may include the subject matter of Examples 26 and 27, furtherincluding means for opening a hole in a portion of the ground clip toreceive a plastic stud to secure the ground clip to a structural memberof the device using thermoplastic staking.

Example 29 may include the subject matter of Examples 26-28, and theground clip includes beryllium copper (BeCu) and is plated with gold(Au).

Example 30 may include the subject matter of Examples 26-29, and one ofthe ground planes is associated with a display element of the device andgrounding is provided to reduce electro-static discharge.

Example 31 may include the subject matter of Examples 26-30, and thedisplay element is an organic light emitting diode (OLED) displayelement.

Example 32 may include the subject matter of Examples 26-31, and one ofthe ground planes is associated with a metal structure configured toprovide rigidity for the device.

Example 33 may include the subject matter of Examples 26-32, and thespring fingers are configured to adapt to manufacturing tolerancevariations in relative positions of the ground planes.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used asterms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention,in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalentsof the features shown and described (or portions thereof), and it isrecognized that various modifications are possible within the scope ofthe claims. Accordingly, the claims are intended to cover all suchequivalents. Various features, aspects, and embodiments have beendescribed herein. The features, aspects, and embodiments are susceptibleto combination with one another as well as to variation andmodification, as will be understood by those having skill in the art.The present disclosure should, therefore, be considered to encompasssuch combinations, variations, and modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. (canceled)
 2. An electrically conductiveapparatus, comprising: a channel shaped structure that includes: a basemember; a first sidewall member disposed along a first side of the baseand extending a first distance from the base; and a second sidewalldisposed along a second side of the base and extending a second distancefrom the base, the second side of the base transversely opposed to thefirst side of base across a width of the base; a first flexible memberhaving a first longitudinal portion and a second longitudinal portion;wherein the first flexible member extends from the first sidewall memberof the channel structure; wherein the first longitudinal portion of thefirst flexible member physically couples to the first sidewall member ofthe channel structure; and wherein the second longitudinal portion ofthe first flexible member is disposed at an angle of greater than 0degrees and less than 180 degrees measured with respect to the firstlongitudinal portion of the first flexible member; a second flexiblemember having a first longitudinal portion and a second longitudinalportion; wherein the second flexible member extends from the secondsidewall member of the channel structure; wherein the first longitudinalportion of the second flexible member physically couples to the secondsidewall member of the channel structure; and wherein the secondlongitudinal portion of the second flexible member is disposed at anangle of greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees measured withrespect to the first longitudinal portion of the second flexible member;a third flexible member having a first longitudinal portion and a secondlongitudinal portion; wherein the third flexible member extends from thebase member of the channel structure; wherein the first longitudinalportion of the third flexible member physically couples to the basemember of the channel structure; and wherein the second longitudinalportion of the third flexible member is disposed at an angle of greaterthan 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees measured with respect to thefirst longitudinal portion of the third flexible member.
 3. Theelectrically conductive apparatus of claim 2 wherein the first flexiblemember is formed integral with the first sidewall member.
 4. Theelectrically conductive apparatus of claim 2 wherein the second flexiblemember is formed integral with the second sidewall member.
 5. Theelectrically conductive apparatus of claim 2 wherein the third flexiblemember is formed integral with the base member.
 6. The electricallyconductive apparatus of claim 2 wherein the second portion of the firstflexible member is disposed at an angle between 90 degrees and 180degrees measured with respect to the first portion of the first flexiblemember.
 7. The electrically conductive apparatus of claim 2 wherein thesecond portion of the second flexible member is disposed at an anglebetween 90 degrees and 180 degrees measured with respect to the firstportion of the second flexible member.
 8. The electrically conductiveapparatus of claim 2 wherein the second portion of the third flexiblemember is disposed at an angle between 90 degrees and 180 degreesmeasured with respect to the first portion of the third flexible member.